La Roux - Sidetracked

La Roux
Sidetracked
RENAISSANCE

Renaissance Geoff Oakes says of the series, "Sidetracked has been developed to show the other side of bands from the electronic genre who can, and do, DJ. It's an opportunity to offer a diverse, unique series.  It does not take long to get the impression the second edition of  Sidetracked is something different, and probably not what a lot of La Roux fans would expect. Compiled by Ben Langmaid and Elly Jackson, the mix gets off to a fine start, and the track selection early on is excellent. Japan’s I Second That Emotion has a cruisy feel as it blends the unusual combination of lounge and country sounds to great effect. Heaven 17 and Joyce Sims mix seamlessly to introduce an eighties feel to the mix, while Afrikan Man from Hally and Kongo is surprisingly catchy. La Roux then rewinds a couple of decades by dropping Doris Troy’s 1963 hit Just One Look. And with this bringing some classic soul and bluesy influences to the mix.

The middle to latter part of the mix is for lovers of eighties music and is a wash of synths and well...Tears For Fears. Technically there are no problems, but it all sounds a bit too similar and slightly pedestrian. Dare I say it things do get slightly Sidetracked. One could be forgiven for thinking they are listening to a straight-to-garage-forecourt eighties compilation which is a shame and contrast to the variety and promise offered at the start of the mix.

The mix ends just as it began, brilliantly. I Blame Coco’s Self Machine changes the direction of the mix with its chilled out Calypso feel bringing with it some new flavor. The SebastiAn remix of Kavinsky’s Testarossa Autodrive is an absolute ripper, although could maybe have benefitted the mix by being dropped earlier to keep energy levels up. Nonetheless SebastiAn’s brutal and trademark sampling of guitar riffs and feedback certainly do take things to another level. The highlight of the mix though comes from La Roux with their own take of The Rolling Stone’s 1966 hit Under My Thumb.

Sidetracked is a very interesting and for the most part excellent compilation with truckloads of variety and versatility. The album does get slightly lost and goes a little overboard with its eighties feel although this is no doubt a reflection of the big impact music from the era is having on a lot of today’s artists including La Roux. One gets the feeling however that La Roux fans might have preferred to hear more of the bouncy and infectiously catchy elements that made them/her into the star they/she is today.

Michael Lynch

Tracklisting: La Roux - Sidetracked
01. Japan – I Second That Emotion
02. Heaven 17 – Come Live With Me
03. Joyce Sims – (You Are My) All And All
04. Hally & Kongo Band – Afrikan Man
05. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up (D. Lissvik Version)
06. Doris Troy – Just One Look
07. Freur – Doot Doot
08. Jam Crew – Exotic Nations
09. Ellis, Beggs & Howard – Big Bubbles, No Troubles
10. Fox The Fox – Precious Little Diamond
11. Tears For Fears – Suffer The Children
12. Blancmange – What’s Your Problem
13. I Blame Coco – Self Machine (Coconut Candy "No Need For Plastic Palm Trees" Elly Jackson Remix)
14. Paul Haig – Big Blue World
15. Kavinsky – Testarossa Autodrive (SebastiAn Remix)
16. La Roux – Under My Thumb
17. Gerry Rafferty – Right Down The Line